


The Color In Between

by ReyloInMyMind



Series: Balance [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Last Jedi
Genre: A Lot of Plot, Complicated Relationships, Conflict, Drama, F/M, Facing the past, Force Bond (Star Wars), KyloRey, Light and Darkness, Loss, Love, Plot, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Revenge, Reylo-Freeform, Romance, Slowburne, Star Wars References, Star Wars Spoilers, The First Order, aktion, an enemy from the past, flash back, what do we do now?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-16 20:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 16,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13643541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyloInMyMind/pseuds/ReyloInMyMind
Summary: The continuation of The Space Between Light & DarknessSeeing the dry planet below should be welcoming and familiar, but Rey only had a feeling of deja-vu.As she lowered the freighter to hover over the sandy ground some meters from her AT-AT, it became clear that someone else had taken over her territory and her home.It was something she could have told herself. On Jakku nothing was sacred, if something was left behind, anyone could claim it. Yet, somehow, she had convinced herself, that everything on Jakku would be just as she left it.-SPOILERS for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Reylo FanfictionI have taken some creative liberties; mainly the Amaniastone, the man called Talock and the dwarf planet Lavadonna is 100% of my imagination.Please enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

Rey sneaked down the corridor, heading for the hangar.

As she hadn't been at the new Resistance base the first time around for long, she had a hard time navigating without anyone noticing her. Even though it was nighttime, the base was still brimming with energy on every level.

She froze, as she opened the door to the hangar.

Among the X-wing fighters stood the Millennium Falcon, and beside it... Finn.

He looked like he was deciding whether or not to leave. A backpack was slung over his shoulder, but he didn't seem to have any resolve.

"Finn." Her voice was soft, but it still startled him.

He turned to look at her. His eyes filled with disbelief and betrayal.

"Tell me that it isn't true."

Rey wanted to explain, to make him understand, but her voice caught in her throat.

"Rey" Finn begged, "Tell me that it isn't true."

Rey pressed her lips together, unable to defend herself or deny the truth.

Finn staggered, shaken by her silence "you've got to be kidding me."

She cleared her throat, finally gaining control over her voice "Finn..." she started.

"No" Finn cut her off, same as Poe had done "Kylo Ren is a monster, Rey!" he yelled. "You can't do this!"

It hurt, seeing him like this hurt her, but there was no way around it. She knew what she needed to do, and that he would never understand. "I know what he is." She said, swallowing what felt like a moon.

"It sure as hell doesn't sound like it!" His voice cracked halfway through the sentence.

"Finn... please listen to me" Rey pleaded.

"No, just leave!" Now Finn's voice was low. "That's why you're here, right? You are going to meet  _him._ "

Rey didn't deny it.

"Finn, you were my first real friend." Her voice was heavy with emotions.

"Just go," Finn said turning his back to her.

Tearing up, Rey marched towards an old freighter at the back of the hangar.

No one would miss that piece of junk.

-

_Kylo?_

Rey reached for him as she exited the atmosphere of the planet. It felt like he was weary far away.

 _Rey,_ even his answer seemed distant,  _are you okay?_

_I'm fine. Where are you?_

Relief spun over their bond from him to her.  _It's a little hard to explain_

_Just give me the coordinates._

_No, it's better if you don't come._

_Why?_  She asked, feeling disappointed that he wasn't waiting for her on a nearby planet.

_Rey, I need to do this alone._

Rey sighted. _Fine, you can find me on Jakku, when you are done._

 _Jakku?_ She could almost feel his frown through the bond  _Are you going back to that junkyard?_

_Yes, I forgot something when I left._

Rey didn't want to admit that she didn't know of any other place they could meet.

The entire First Order navy was probably out looking for them. Jakku was mostly deserted-land, easy to hide in, and there she had the home advantage. Yes, it was filled with scavengers, but she knew how to handle them.

 _Suit yourself,_ was his only reply before he shut off the connection.

Thrown out of his head, Rey tried to shake off the sudden feeling of abandonment.

The freighter protested as she set the coordinates and readied the jump into hyperspace.

Nothing happened the first time she yanked the unwilling handle on the hyperdrive, she had to meddle with quite a few wires before the freighter, henceforth known as Scrapmetal, finally jumped to lightspeed.

-

Seeing the dry planet below should have been welcoming and familiar, but Rey only had a feeling of deja-vu.

As she lowered the freighter to hover over the sandy ground some meters from her AT-AT, it became clear that someone else had taken over her territory and her home.

It was something she could have told herself.

On Jakku nothing was sacred. If something was left behind, anyone could claim it. Yet somehow, she had convinced herself that everything on Jakku would be just as she left it.

There was never really anything of value in there, only the necessities, but it had been her home. 

Not wanting to know who lived there now, she made the Scrapmetal fly again, stirring clear of Niima Outpost and heading for the wasteland. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Grandfather. I need your guidance."

Kylo sat on Darth Vader's throne in the Obsidian Tower, burying his face in his hands.

The castle on the volcanic world of Mustafar was largely deserted.

Ever since the death of Anakin Skywalker, it had belonged to his daughter Leia. Kylo himself had only ever visited his grandfathers home once before; right after Luke Skywalker had betrayed Ben Solo.

Back then, the castle had been a magnificent display of phenomenal power, his birthright and a promise of greater things.

Now, the black corridors rang hollow with every step he took.

A lonely fortress, so filled with anger and pain that it made the lavafeel cold.

Kylo knew what had happened here: the duel between his grandfather and Obi-Wan Kenobi and the death of his grandmother.

The Supreme Leader told the story, glorifying the actions of the great Darth Vader. How he, by making the ultimate sacrifice, turned himself completely to the dark side and in return received power beyond all expectation.

There was no power left in the castle, only a faint echo of the past.

"I feel the pull to the light. But I can never be Ben Solo again, it's too late."

_Then don't._

The whisper was faint, hardly even words, but it made Kylo jump in full defense. Igniting his lightsaber, he inspected the dark corners of the throne room. He didn't know the voice, but still, it seemed familiar.

He stood there in several minutes, feeling around himself with the Force, more than willing to kill whoever dared enter the castle of Darth Vader.

The darkness of the place was all-consuming, without the slightest sign of life.

Kylo relaxed, finally turning off his lightsaber.

Trying to convince himself that it had been his imagination.

-

Wandering the large halls, the echo of his boots sounded like thunder between the black walls.

Lost in his own thoughts he suddenly found himself in the center of the tower, right in front of the becta-tank that was once Darth Vader's only sanctuary.

The room was clinical, all black like the rest of the castle and with no hint that a person had ever lived there.

There were no signs of comfort or personal belongings. Only the empty becta-tank.

While Kylo stod lost in his own thoughts, he was hit from behind. A net swung around his upper body with such force that he fell down on one knee.

Kylo instantly recognized the pull of the pebbles fastened all over the net: Amaniastone.

"I knew you would be here."

Kafia emerged from the shadows behind him.

Her heavy armor and mask were gone, replaced with a lighter, more agile set of black clothing.

It just occurred to Kylo that he had never seen her without her mask before. Kafia was dangerously beautiful, dark brown skin and short bloodred hair.

She smiled triumphantly, confident in her victory. Behind her around twenty heavily armed mercenaries appeared, all snickering at the sight of Kylo, trapped and kneeling.

"I thought you said that he was a tough target."

A loud man with a beard and long, dirty dreadlocks stood out from the crowd.

"Don't underestimate him." Kafia sneered, without realizing that she herself was delusional to think that some stones and a handful of men were enough to overpower Kylo. "That man is Kylo Ren."

Most of the mercenaries broke into wild laughter, encouraged by the loud man. "Him?"

Kylo was slowly loosening his shoulders and taking a grip on his lightsaber.

The stones might have pulled on his power, but they were small and barely worth the effort of breaking through the net.

"Bathwan!" Kafia's voice was deadly serious, as she pointed a duo bladed vibrostaff at his bearded neck. The laughter subdued and Kafia turned towards Kylo.

"Why have you brought those weaklings here?" Kylo asked, getting to his feet.

The mercenaries growled.

"I need witnesses." She said, flashing a dark smile. "When I slay you, I will become one of the most famous people in the galaxy, the First Order won't be able to ignore me."

Kylo smirked. "They kicked you out."

The sudden fury in her eyes revealed that he was right on the mark.

As she swung her vibrostaff, he ignited the lightsaber. Cutting through the net, he blocked her attack in one swift motion.

The mercenaries instantly attacked and Kylo kept them all at bay. Enjoying the thrill of the fight and the power flowing inside of him. This was what he was trained to do, what he was good at.

Kafia screamed as he cut deep into her shoulder. Only eight mercenaries remained around them and they all froze.

Kylo wicked the red blade from her flesh and looked around for his next opponent.

None of them attacked.

All their eyes reflected the horror of facing a monster and the desire to run away.

Kylo was very familiar with that look, he had seen it multiple times and had always felt empowered and superior for it.

So why was it suddenly bothering him?

_Because you don't want to be a monster._

The weird voice from before whispered as if it saw his mind.

Completely distracted, Kylo looked all over for the source of the voice.

Infuriated that he once again found nothing, he started smashing the walls and the outside of the empty beta-tank with his lightsaber.

Not Ben Solo, not a monster, not anything!

Was that what the voice tried to say?

Without the will to try an attack on Kylo Ren while he was in that state, the mercenaries saw a chance, picked up Kafia and escaped.  


	3. Chapter 3

Rey was both pissed and relieved when she felt Kylo approaching Jakku.

He had isolated himself for nearly a month, refusing all contact.

Her only consolation was the fact that he stayed on whatever planet he was on. She always had a rough feel of where he was, though she didn't have the knowledge to name the planet nor point it out on a galactic map.

Rey heard the engine sound and swoosh of the landing gear. Undecided on whether to slap him or hug him, she stayed put in the freighter's crew lounge, trying to concentrate on adjusting the wires in her lightsaber.

"Rey."

She turned to face him. Seeing his big figure in the doorway to the lounge, all her build-up anger melted away.

Cracks appeared in the shield shutting her out of his mind. As the shield crumbled, it all came rushing over her, she felt his conflict, the confusion, loneliness, frustration, and pain inside him. 

Rey forgot about the thoroughly planned-out reprimand that she had intended to throw in his face.

Instead, she simply held out her arms, welcoming him.

Kylo walked toward her, his massive body slowly sinking as if pressed down by a tremendous weight, ending on his knees with his arms around her back and his chin against her chest. Rey gently wrapped her arms around him, as he slowly calmed down in her embrace and they both felt the relief of finally being together again.

"I missed you terribly." He mumbled, tightening his grip on her.

Rey didn't know what to say, of course, she had missed him too, but a part of her was still a little angry at him. "Where were you?" She asked, feeling him tense up a bit.

Kylo lifted his head to look up at her. "Are you sure that you want to know?"

"Yes."

"I was at Darth Vader's castle." His eyes were honest as they looked into hers.

Her heartbeat quickened. "Why?"

"To find answers." He replied.

"Did you find any?"

His lips quivered slightly. "No."

There it was again, the lostness in his eyes. She could feel it through the bond and it made her want to hold him closer. She bent down a little and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Then we will search for them somewhere else."

-

Waking up in the worn down crew quarter of the freighter, it took Kylo a few minutes to remember where he was.

The memory of Rey, her welcoming arms and the unmistakable feeling of home.

It was his plan not return without an answer, without something solid. Still, the episode with Kafia and the unnerving voice disturbing his mind made him run straight back to Rey.

A contemptuous thought whispered about weakness. Kylo pushed it away, he had fought back to back with Rey several times, and every time they would always be far stronger together than apart. Him weakening, because of her, was nothing but absurd.

One of his fingers ran across a small collection of scratched lines on the inside of the bunk bed. 27 lines, carefully in place beside each other.

Rey had counted the days.

A fleeting pang of guilt woke in his gut, only to be buried by his pride. He had only done what he needed to do.

Bending out of the bed so as to not hit his head, he wondered how anyone could live in such a worn-down freighter. Used to the luxuries of his position, he had never stayed in such a place before.

Walking out to find food, it puzzled him how well he had slept on the bunk bed, which was both too short, bumpy and quite cramped with both him and Rey in it.

He found Rey in the lounge, fiddling with her lightsaber again.

"Morning sleepy-head," she greeted flatly, without looking up or turning around.

Kylo sneered at the nickname, more out of habit than dislike.

Taking a closer look over her shoulder, this was the first time he had really seen her lightsaber. The last time there had been too many people trying to kill them, for him to notice the details of her weapon. The handle was slender with a smaller grip than the original weapon, befitting of her hands and slender build.

She had most likely built it herself, using the remains of his grandfather's lightsaber. 

Remembering how the lightsaber had broken between them - how she had left him - he felt a sudden urge to touch her, to make sure that she was really there.

He oppressed it, concentrating on her handiwork instead.

"It's not half bad." He acknowledged, "for an amateur Jedi."

"Kriff off." She said, focusing on a wire.

"Why are you angry?" He felt it smolder under the surface of her work.

Rey sighed. "Do you really need to ask?"

"I can read your mind if you want."

"Don't." Her eyes fixated firmly on the lightsaber, but her hands had stopped working. "You abandoned me."

"Rey, I just had to... "

"I know. But I  _felt_  abandoned. Leaving the Resistance wasn't an easy choice and you just shut me out."

Kylo reached down and wrapped his arms around her. Rey didn't resist, but she let her pain flow to him. All of her worry and uncertainty and the fear that he would never come back.

She only heard his breathless words, because his lips were right next to her ear. "I'm sorry."

"You came back," she whispered to him, accepting his apology. 

"Of course, I always will," he promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone  
> I hope you like the start of novel nr. 2! ^^
> 
> The end of the story suddenly grew extensive, with a lot of loose ends to tie and a lot of stuff happening on very few chapters.  
> It felt really cramped together.
> 
> So… I decided to cut this novel short with 17. chapters in sted of the planed 25. and started working on novel nr. 3. to allow the end of my story (and myself) room to breathe and evolve.  
> This means that "The Color In Between" is out ahead of my expectations and novel nr. 3 "Darkness Rises and Light to Meet It" will hopefully be done by the end of March.
> 
> (Lets face it, it's probably done before that, this story has a life of it's own, but I don't want to disappoint anyone if I suddenly get a writers block) 
> 
> As my wonderful proofreader is currently occupied with my first novel, I hope you can live with the grammatical errors that comes with a story written by a Dane. I'm struggling to learn and I think, that I'm making progress.  
> In order to improve I will regularly correct the reoccurring errors, that my amazing proofreader make me aware of. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading my story!


	4. Chapter 4

Rey was speechless at the sight of the Baudo Class Specter.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, gliding her hand over the shiny black surface of the incredible ship.

It was a veteran model, nearly thirty years old, but still in prime condition, as if it had never been used.

It had been modified with extra laser cannons and an old-school camouflage technology.

Because of its rarity and condition, it was likely worth more than a brand-new model.

"In the castle hangar," Kylo replied.

Rey immediately pulled her hand away, realizing the meaning of his words: it had belonged to Darth Vader.

"And where is Poe's fighter?" She continued, making a clumsy attempt to mask her reaction.

Kylo studied her for a long second. "It makes you uneasy," he stated, ignoring her question.

Rey didn't answer.

"Why?" Kylo asked.

She hated it when he did that, prying for an answer she didn't want to give.

Kylo chuckled "You really think the evilness of the ship could contaminate you?"

Rey's ears became red and she turned away from him.

Kylo was behind her in two long steps. Laying one arm around her waist, he pressed his chest against her back.

"If that was possible, you would have turned to the Dark Side a long time ago," he whispered softly, in a slightly teasing manner that made her heartbeat quicken.

"That would have made everything much easier."

Rey wrenched herself away from him.

"I will never turn to the Dark Side," she proclaimed, sending him a strong look to let him see the will behind her words.

"I know." He admitted with a slight smile, still amused by the thought of conterminously evil spaceships.

"Good." Rey broke eye contact and went to get her boe-staff. "I'm going to find some batteries for the freighter," she announced as she trudged into the wasteland.

Kylo knitted a brow. There was no reason to repair on that piece of junk when they had the Specter, and he knew that she knew it.

Before he could pry his way to the real reason why she was leaving, she put up the shields in her mind.

Rey's heart was still beating loudly and the feeling of being pressed against his chest like that wouldn't leave her head.

She needed to be alone for a while to clear her thoughts.

-

Scavenging helped clear her mind a bit.

It was familiar to climb around, exploring the ruins of a Star Destroyer in the outskirts of The Graveyard of Giants.

"Well if it isn't a desert rat, crawling around in my territory."

Rey was hanging head down in a cargo hangar.

Recognizing the voice she looked down at Talock with a smile. "How did you get such a nice territory?"

"My charm," he answered as he watched her climb down.

Back on the sandy ground, Rey greeted her old rival with the scavengers shake. "Is there anything your charm can't get you?"

"One or two things, I guess." Talock smiled.

He was, without doubt, one of the few nicer looking men on Jakku.

He still had his teeth, and was charming and fairly clean. Once, she had thought that if she were to be with someone, it would most likely be him.

Like her, he was dumped at Niima Outpost at a young age, and like her, he had learned to survive the hard way.

But unlike her, he was prone to underhanded methods and gambling. His stolen animatronic leg was clear proof of that.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. "The entire outpost was buzzing with the story of you stealing the Millennium Falcon."

"You knew that it was the Millennium Falcon?"

"No one knew before you stole it. Unkar Plutt raged for months and placed a huge reward on your head"

Rey's smile faded a bit. "How much?"

"An entire years' worth of portions or free transport off-planet."

"Kriff." Rey was suddenly cautious of Talock, he had once been somewhat of a comrade, but she didn't trust him. "You don't have an eye on that prize, do you?"

Talock smiled widely, letting his famous charm shine through. "That depends... do you have anything to bargain with? The Millennium Falcon maybe?"

"I don't have it anymore."

"You didn't come all the way back her without a ship."

"It is only an ordinary freighter, but if that is what it takes..."

Talock lifted an eyebrow. "That easy, ey?"

"That easy," Rey confirmed.

Kylo would undoubtedly Kill Talock without a second thought, but she didn't like the idea of killing someone just to keep their mouth shut.

"I'll deliver it here tomorrow."

Talock tilted his head "Why won't you just take me to it?"

Because Talock would eye off the Specter instead of the old freighter and Kylo would Kill him on sight, even if he didn't.

"Because it's a long walk to my hiding place and I don't trust you."

"Anxious for a romantic date?"

"You wish."

"Very well." Talock bowed ironically and strolled down to his speeder.

Rey followed him through the Force, making sure he wasn't planning on following her, then she headed back.

No way in hell was Talock going to take the Scrapmetal as a bribe, but she had at least bought them a little time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... an old friend appears.  
> Or the closest thing to a friend Rey could have on Jakku.  
> Like Kafia, he is someone I made up, so don't bother searching to get any clues about him.
> 
> Talock will have a significant role in the story, so keep an eye out for him.


	5. Chapter 5

Kafia walked down the corridors of the Obsidian Tower, determination covering her face like warpaint. Her right arm hung limply from her damaged shoulder, which was only held together by a sloppy bandage.

The room with the becta-tank was barely recognizable; marks and deep indentations from the red lightsaber were all over the walls. Even the becta-tank itself was thoroughly trashed.

Kafia bent down to gather the pieces of the net together. The black pebbles shimmered in the deep gloomy light from the lava.

Grimacing, she forced herself up and slowly walked out with a grim smile on her face.

-

As she was on her way back from the Graveyard of Giants an explosion disturbed Rey's thoughts.

Soon afterward, a pile of smoke rose from the horizon.

 _Kylo, what happened?_ She asked, and started running towards their ships.

 _Some friends of yours,_ Kylo answered. _T_ _he freighter is hit._

Rey heard the distant humming of motors starting, shots from a laser cannon and someone shouting not to hit the Specter.

They obviously knew how valuable it was.

_My lightsaber?_

_I have it._

Rey looked at the black tower of smoke in the sky.  _And my backpack?_

Kylo's black ship appeared from the sandbanks in front of her.

_No._

_I need to go back for it._

_Why?_

Rey didn't answer; instead she ran over the sandbanks, straight down to the burning ruins of the freighter.

On the sand cliffs behind it, a bunch of bandits was gathered to attack what they surely thought were some foolish rich kids on a pleasure cruise.

They immediately started firing their blasters at her.

Kylo loudly cursed her over their connection, turning the Specter to cover her.

Rey jumped right into the flaming freighter, protecting her head with her arms.

It hurt where the flames came in contact with her bare skin and she had to evade the hot metal pieces of the collapsing freighter.

After what felt like an eternity in the scorching heat, she located the backpack and ran for the exit with it clutched tightly to her chest.

Coughing from the smoke, she was finally out, running for open ground.

Kylo made a loop, flying low and slowed the ship as much as he could to let her jump onto the open boarding ramp.

Then they took to the sky.

Rey felt Kylo's anger looming in the cockpit and decided to treat her burns in the lounge. Making sure the backpack and its content was unharmed by the flames, she placed it on the lounge couch.

Once in space, they jumped to lightspeed and Kylo turned on the autopilot.

"That was stupid and dangerous." He stood in the doorway leading from the lounge to the cockpit-passage, with his hands clenched in bearly-concealed fury.

Rey stood, straightened her back and raised her chin. It had been a long time since she had last seen him this angry and she tried to prepare for whatever he was going to throw in her face.

In a couple of long steps, he was right in front of her. Towering over her like a barely contained volcano, ready to explode.

"Why?" His voice was dangerously low.

"It is important," she answered.

His eyes fell on the simple, brown backpack. "What could possibly be that important?"

Rey sank, forcing herself not to take a step back. It was better not to tell him, but in this situation, it was impossible.

"The Sacred Jedi Texts."

Kylo's eyes darkened. "Pitiful old words," he sneered. "You could have died in there! A useless sacrifice for a dead religion!"

"It is important to me," Rey repeated and then her back hit the wall.

Kylo held an arm on each side of her head, trapping her completely. "Why won't you just let it be?"

Rey's eyes hardened, challenging him. "Because it is worth saving"

"Don't you ever throw your life away like that, I won't allow it!" It was almost a threat.

"You won't allow it?" she snorted, trying to control her wildly beating heart. 

Kylo slammed his fist into the wall beside her ear. She didn't weaver. He couldn't force her into submission and he had to accept that.

His face changed slightly.

Shaking fingers lightly brushed a burn over her collarbone and then they encircled her neck. Kylo didn't mean to choke her - he didn't need his hands for that - he wanted to control her. Keep her. 

She felt the anger slowly turn to desperation. "Please, don't die on me."

Rey realized that she had frightened him. Without breaking eye contact she raised a hand and gently placed it on his cheek. He flinched at the touch.

"I won't," she assured him.

Then his lips crashed into hers.

Overwhelmed by the sudden passion, she kissed him back. Grateful for the wall supporting her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and didn't protest when his hands started pulling at her clothes. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

Closely wrapped around each other, they slowly sank to the floor. 

-

"They are going to tell on us," Kylo remarked, lying naked on the floor next to her. 

In the heat of it all, Kylo had somehow managed to spread his cape out on the floor for them to lie on. All of their other clothes were thrown left and right in the small lounge. 

"Talock was going to do that anyway." Rey brushed a strand of black hair from his face.

Kylo raised his head on one arm and looked down at her. "Who?"

"Just someone. He surprised me while I was out." 

"He knows who you are?" His brow quivered.

"Yes." A chill ran over Rey's bare hip and shoulders and she grabbed a corner of the cape to wrap around herself. Why was he suddenly treating her like an ignorant child talking to strangers? "I didn't see the harm."

"So... what happened? You just talked?"

"He... He blackmailed me," Rey admitted.

Kylo didn't seem surprised. "You need to stop trusting everyone."

"I can't mistrust everyone!" she protested.

"You have to." Kylo's words were gentle, but firm, as he tugged her into his warm embrace. 

She pressed her cold nose into his neck. "I don't want to." 

Kylo's fingers ran through her hair "I know, but that's the world we live in now."

After a moment of silence between them, Rey asked. "Do you trust me?"

He blinked at the directness of her question.

"I trust you," she continued, turning her head to face him. 

Kylo saw clear honesty in her eyes. His voice was low and breathless as he answered, "I trust you."

Rey smiled, knowing exactly how hard it was for him to admit it. She lifted her head and kissed him lightly. "I know," she whispered.

Kylo pulled her closer to his chest and held her tightly. It was warm and comfortable in his embrace, and the memory of what they had just done made her heart race.

"Where are we going?" she asked, trying to distract her herself.

"Wherever we want," he answered.

"You don't know?"

"No," he admitted, "we are headed for an uninhabited moon. We should be able to stay for a day without anyone noticing us, but that's it."

A silence grew between them, as they tried not to voice the question they were both avoiding:  _then what?_

Kylo ultimately wanted revenge on the First Order, to personally crush them completely and make sure they would never rise from the ashes. Before that, he needed to make his powers grow stronger. Training alone wouldn't be enough; he needed the old wisdom of the Sith.

Rey wanted to explore the ways of the Jedi, refining her skills and learning all that she could. She wanted to find a way to help the Resistance from afar, to try and repay General Organa and somehow soothe the guilt she felt by leaving them. In time she wanted to reinvent the Jedi order.

Each knew the others thoughts and they both disliked the other's plans.

How could they ever follow the same path?

Rey focused her gaze on his scar, letting a finger follow it across his face, down his neck to his shoulder. It was a clear reminder of their different viewpoints.

Kylo grasped her hand at the bottom of his scar, lifting it up and kissed her palm.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Where do you want to go?" she asked.

Kylo hesitated. "I have thought about Moraband," he said, "but you don't want to go there."

"What is Moraband?" Rey asked, sure that it couldn't get any worse than Darth Wader's castle.

"The homeworld of the Sith," he answered.

Rey's chest grew tight. No, she really didn't want to go there. "Do you think you will find your answers there?"

"Maybe."

"Then let's do it."

Kylo frowned, surprised by her willingness to go.

"But," she raised a finger, "afterwards, we will go to a beautiful world, with a pleasant climate and not too many people."

Kylo smiled, holding her a bit tighter. "Let's just go there now. Moraband is a dead world, it can wait"

"Are you sure?"

She felt Kylo nodding against the top of her head. "Moraband is a dangerous place, especially for a Jedi. It isn't a place you go rashly."

Rey nuzzled her head at his neck. "Okay." She had no clue where to find such an idyllic world, and asked, "Do you know a world with a pleasant climate and no people?"

Kylo kissed her hair. "Yes." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kafia is (hardly) on her feet again and we are finally off of Jakku.  
> Kylo found out, that Rey still got The Sacred Jedi Texts. They have their first fight (In this novel) and some very soft moments, warming my heart while writing.
> 
> The question: "Where do we go now?" Actually gave me a big headache, but I think I found a pretty good solution.


	6. Chapter 6

The dwarf planet Lavadonna had a wide ocean under a clear blue sky.

Descending to the planet, it looked as though there was only the endless sea, but soon a collection of small islands appeared. The coast mostly consisted of white cliffs, while the centers were covered in light forests of trees with grey stems and green branches. A multitude of flowers bloomed in all colors and filled the air with their sweet scent.

Rey stood on a beach of white pebbles with her bare feet in the clear water, breathing in the comfortable warmth surrounding her. Looking to the horizon, the sky didn't seem to have any clouds, not even a visible sun, yet everything was bathed in light.

Clenching her toes in the water, she had the feeling that she knew this place.

It was impossible. She was pretty sure that she had never even heard of a planet this blue before. Still, the feeling stuck with her.

Rey turned and smiled at Kylo, who was just exiting the Specter. He seemed misplaced on the beach, with his dark clothes and gloomy aura.

"How do you know this place?" Rey asked, unable to conceal the wonder in her voice.

Kylo didn't answer, wearing a mask of complete emotionlessness he went further up the beach.

Rey didn't mind, she was getting used to his mood swings. She just waded out of the water and headed after Kylo, leaving her shoes behind.

"This is perfect!" Her smile became wider, as she caught up with him, "I can't believe no one lives here."

Still silence.

"Kylo?"

Rey halted, as she saw the ruins of a T-1 shuttle appear on the other side of a bunch of trees.

It was very old, rusty and almost merged by nature. Obviously it had crash-landed, with one wing almost entirely ripped off.

Rey blinked, thinking something was wrong with her eyes:

The shuttle suddenly looked newly crashed. Small clouds of smoke roast from the engine filters and all the trees around it was splintered and damaged.

The image of a woman in a dirty, white dress walked past Rey.

The woman bent down.

On eye-level with a black-haired boy, she scolded him for running around on the unfamiliar planet, telling him to stay by the shuttle and keep an eye on the sky.

The vision disappeared, but Rey had no doubt where it had come from.

Kylo's face was still closed off, same as his feelings, but he let the memories flow to her. Showing her what he could not express with words:

The young general Organa was desperately trying to contact her husband over the communicator.

Meanwhile, another shuttle appeared in the blue sky.

They were dangerous. Rey  _knew_  it as if she herself was the young boy.

_They are going to murder my mom._

Fear mixed with anger and the desire to protect what he loved the most.

A huge amount of energy emanated from the boy's body, aimed at the machinery of the shuttle. Something on the dangerous shuttle exploded and it crashes into the ocean.

The exhausted boy turned to his mother with a smile, expecting praise for his actions, but he only saw terror in her eyes.

The vision faded, replaced by darkness. Rey recognized the younger voices of Han Solo, General Organa, and Master Luke.

_He needs to learn how to control it._

_He is only a child._

_That is why it is important to act now._

In the following vision, the boy hugged his mother, crying and telling her that he doesn't want to go.

His unfamiliar uncle took his hand and pulled him away from his mother.

The vision ended.

Rey's eyes were clouded with tears, as she kneeled down on the white pebbles.

Suddenly igniting his lightsaber, Kylo stated beating the old shuttle, as if blaming it for everything.

Shouting in rage, he let out the frustrations which had built up inside him for years.

Rey didn't try to stop him.

When he finally stopped, he was panting and the lightsaber seemed heavy as lead in his hand.

"Are you done?" Rey asked, drying her tears away as she walked to his side.

Kylo nodded.

Rey let her hand slide down his arm to the lightsaber and turned it off. She interlaced her fingers with his.

"Let's go and find some water."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually cried writing this for the frist time.  
> And I still think that it is powerful. Kylo sharing this memory with Rey and venting out his frustrations on the past.


	7. Chapter 7

Kylo and Rey went to one of the other islands to make camp.

As the islands were mostly identical, the scenery didn't change, but the knowledge of it made a difference.

The boarding ramp hit the pebbles of a circular lagoon, nearly enclosed by the white cliffs of the island. Rey noticed that the sky was slowly darkening; apparently, the days on the planet weren't long.

Craving refreshment, she slipped out of her clothes, leaving only her breastband and pants on.

"What are you doing?" Kylo asked, composed, but slightly confused.

Rey smiled, as she went into the water, "I'm going for a swim."

"Do you even know how to swim?"

The answer was obvious from the weird paddling motion of her hands, but she managed to move forward.

Dipping her head in the water, she felt the unfamiliar flow of liquid around her as she moved. A sandbath or a fresher was nothing compared to this. It even seemed like the water was drinkable. 

Kylo sat on the shore, observing her, deep in thought. 

He felt something changing inside him. The heavy anger which had become a central part of his entire being was slowly lifting. It made him relieved and terrified just the same. It was her fault. She was the one changing him. Something inside him wanted to purge her existence from his mind; the rest of him knew that he would be completely lost without her.

_Kylo._

Rey called to him through the Force. For a second he thought something was wrong, but she was happily waving up at him. 

 _Look!_  Standing in water up to her navel, she moved her hand in wide circles, as small fish swam through in thin air following her fingers.  _I didn't know fish could swim in the air!_

 _They can't,_  Kylo stated.  _N_ _ot normally._ A thought hit him.  _Get out of the water!_

_Why?_

_Just do as I say!_

_You need to stop ordering me around,_ she remarked, but did as she was told.

"Would you care to explain?" she asked flatly, standing in front of him on the shore, dripping with water.

"Why would fish evolve to swim in the air?" Kylo asked, giving her a telling look. "Because they are afraid of something in the water."

Rey looked back at the ocean behind her, where more and more fish were heading for land. 

A shiver went through her body and she suddenly remembered a dream. A peaceful place in perfect balance. An ocean, no clouds, no sun, no moon, but fish that were able to break the surface of the water and swim in the air.

Kylo rose to his feet and wrapped his black cape around her. "What's wrong?" he asked, feeling her worry.

"I know this place," she answered. "In my dream, there were no islands, but it is here. I'm sure." Rey looked up at the darkening sky, half expecting to be swallowed up by the ground.

His brows drew together. "What kind of dream?" 

"It was back when I was unconscious in the cave, just after we got out of the prison on Amania. It felt so real, standing on top of the ocean surface, surrounded by the sea and the sky. Everything was perfect. Then my body suddenly broke the surface of the water and something pulled me down." Rey shuddered.

Kylo put an arm around her as they walked back to the Specter. "Most of the time, a dream is just a dream." 

Rey bit her lip. "I hope you are right."

-

Kafia observed the fingers on her right hand bending and stretching at her will. She turned the hand and flexed the muscles in her arm. 

She smiled, as her grip once again seemed powerful enough to hold a weapon.

A medical droid was adjusting the robotic technology that stabilized her damaged shoulder. There were dark steel plates, rods and screws visibly digging into the flesh from her shoulder and down her right arm. 

With more money and time, they could have concealed the metal in her arm and make it look like nothing had ever happened to her, but Kafia liked the new horrifying look. 

It made her feel stronger.

"Attach these." She commanded, handing a small bag of black stones to the man in charge of her operation. 

He starred at the weird stones, unsure of the meaning of her words. 

Kafia gripped his white coat, forcing his head closer to hers. "Attach them to the machinery of my arm and don't you dare scratch even one of them." She said, slowly as to make him understand every word. Her eyes left no question of what would happen to him if he made a mistake.

He nodded, afraid to do anything else, and started working. 


	8. Chapter 8

By nighttime, the entire wildlife of the ocean had immigrated to the islands. It was capered and almost impossible to move outside of the Specter without bumping into or stepping on a lot of fish. Some of the smallest fish even snug their way into the ship. They constantly twirled around Rey, following her around and nibbling at her hair and clothes.

Kylo whacked them if they came to close.

None of them slept that night. Both were restlessly waiting for some kind of monster to appear, but except the bizarre amount of fish on land, nothing happened.

In the morning the fish returned to the ocean as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

After a couple of days, they both started to relax around the water again.

It was clearly only dangerous at night and whatever creature was out there, it didn't move on land.

Most people would leave the planet, never to return, but for Kylo and Rey it was a perfect sanctuary.

An entire planet to themselves: fresh water, food, and a comfortable climate.

No one to rat on them, try to kill them or capture them for ransom.

"Don't you think, it's time to start training?" Kylo asked as they had been on the Island for more than a week, and Rey still spend most of her time exploring the islands.

Rey was daydreaming while gazing at the moonless night sky from a small porthole. "Training?"

"The Jedi-training, I assume that's why you have those moth-eaten old books." Kylo waved at the backpack at the side of their bed.

"But, Master L..." She stopped herself and started over, "I have no teacher."

"You don't need a teacher to learn something." He ignored her slip of the tongue, and looked her right in the eyes, "though I'm more than willing to teach you."

A little smile flashed across her lips. "I don't like your methods." She answered.

Kylo's jaw tightened and he walked towards her. "We were in a hurry and your life depended on it."

"Exactly, my life depended on it."

"It still doses." Kylo's chest was bare, as they were about to go to sleep. "It might be peaceful on this planet, but we live dangerous lives."

Rey's eyes fell on his upper body. The scar she had given him was niter the only one nor the largest. "How many battles have you fought?" she asked.

"Too many to count." He stopped at her side and she let a finger follow the edges of an especially nasty scar on his torso.

"Where did this scar come from?" Rey asked.

Kylo's expression hardened a bit. "The Supreme Leader was disappointed in me."

"Snoke hurt you like this?"

"Yes." His mouth twitched.

Rey felt the weight of the subject. "And you still called him master?"

"Pain is a way to the dark side, it strengthens you" his voice was a stoic echo of his master's teachings.

"And you forgave him, just like that." Her eyes flickered to the scar on his face "Like you forgave me."

"No."

Rey's gaze sprang to meet his.

"It is not the same." He continued, as he bends down to kiss her. "I have never kissed the Supreme Leader," suddenly his tone was slightly teasing and it completely ruined the tense atmosphere.

Rey couldn't help but snicker.

"Rey, I really could help with your training, I was a Padawan once." His voice was soft by her ear.

"A what?" Rey asked, finding it hard to concentrate.

Kylo smiled that smug smile, she both heated and loved, "See, you need my help."

Rey glared at him. "Just tell me what it is."

"It is a Jedi-in-training."

Her nose wrinkled. "Why does it have such a strange name?"

Kylo's eyes were smiling and his voice bearing traces of laughter, "I have no idea."

"Does the Sith have Padawans to?" Rey wondered.

Kylo shook his head "The Sith follows the rule of two. There are only one Sith master and one apprentice at all times."

Her forehead creased "That sounds impractical."

"Why?"

"To only have one of each, what if the master dies before the apprentice learns everything he needs to learn?"

"Usually it is the apprentice killing his master, proving that he has surpassed his master and is worthy of being a master himself," Kylo explained.

Rey took a hold of his head, pulled it away from her neck and up to face her "Like you killed Snoke?"

"In a way... Yes." Kylo didn't seem bothered by it. "The Supreme Leader was never a Sith, but it is similar."

"Do you want me to kill you someday?" Rey asked firmly.

Kylo battered his eyes, once again surprised at how direct she could be. "Of course not."

"Then don't make me follow the path of the Sith." Her eyes were clear and unyielding, and he had no comeback.

When she was sure that he understood her words, she pulled him closer and kissed him passionately.

"I'll start training tomorrow." She promised, as his arms enclosed her.

-

In the morning Rey saw the fish return to the water.

Climbing to the highest point on the island, she placed herself in meditation position and reached out to the Force around her.

Like on Ahch-To there was an overwhelming amount of light on the islands.

She already knew that wildlife on land was limited. A few birds, snakes, and lizards, all feeding on the fish, but no mammals of any kind.

The fish seemed to have taken the place of insects, pollinating the flowers and trees by swimming closely together at night.

Master Lukes words suddenly echoed in her head:

_Balance, powerful light, powerful darkness_

What was out there, in the ocean? What could possibly balance this peaceful place?

The dream puzzled her.

She had nearly died from overuse of the Force and she dreamed of  _this_ place?

Was it a forecast? A warning? Or just a coincidence?

By sheer curiosity, she reached out further, trying to get a glimpse of the thing looming out there.

In the end, she had to give up as it was too far away.

Disappointed, she started working on her concentration, picking up a few fist-size stones with the Force and made them rotate in orbit around her.

Slowly she added more stones, one at the time until there was almost fifteen.

"Impressive, but it would be more efficient if you stand upside down on one hand." Kylo's voice broke her concentration.

The stones fell to the ground and she opened her eyes, "that sounds silly."

"I have done it," Kylo assured her.

"Kylo." Rey stretched her sleeping legs from her body, "do you know the Gray Jedi?" The question had been on her mind since the night before, but there hadn't really ben a good time to ask.

Kylo frowned. "Where have you heard about that?"

Rey took a deep breath. "From your mother." She knew that he would rather not talk about General Organa, but Rey didn't want to pretend that she didn't exist.

He turned his back to Rey. Unwilling to stay and unable to leave.

"She helped me leave the Resistance." Rey continued. "She loves you."

A long silence formed between them. Rey felt a tiny bit of reliving and warmth blooming in Kylo's chest, quickly followed by guilt.

"The Gray Jedi is nothing but a bedtime story, if they ever existed they went extinct a long time ago." His voice was slightly shaking.

Rey took the hint and continued the conversation. "Don't you think we are proof that they existed?"

"Us?" Kylo turned to face her.

"Yes us, you aren't all darkness and I'm not all light."

He couldn't really argue with that. Even though it irritated him.

"It a nice thought." She admitted. "To be unbound by the strict code of the Jedi, and free from the evil of the Sith."

Kylo sad down on the ground in front of her with an intense expression. "Most Sith Lords started as Jedi trying to control both sides of the Force. I would personally be thrilled to teach you the way of the Sith, but trying to use both the Light Side and the Dark Side will drive you mad."

"You don't think it is possible to find a balance?" Rey asked.

He reached out and stroke a strain of hair from her face. "It might be possible, I just want you to be careful. There is a reason why the two sides are separated."

Rey shook her head. There was a lot of sense to his words, but she didn't agree. "I don't believe that they are separated. When I reach out to the world I feel the Force in everything, it isn't light nor dark, it is both."

Kylo was at a loss for words.

He had heard that doctrine repeated by Skywalker, again and again, sounding more hollow each time it was said, yet from her mouth, it suddenly seemed like ancient wisdom.

"I think that is enough philosophy for today." Kylo rose to his feet, unsure how to react to his sudden revelation.

Rey's eyes fell on the lightsaber in his hand, "are you going to practice?"

"Yes." He answered, "do you want to join me?"

Rey smiled up at him and unclipped her own lightsaber from the belt.

Her body was stiff and itchy after sitting the entire morning, but she had no intention of letting him win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a big, heavy chapter, lots of talk and info, I hope I haven't lost you on that.  
> I really wanted Kylo and Rey to discuss their different views, and hopefully it's not too forced.


	9. Chapter 9

The sight of Kafia's shuttle didn't surprise anyone on Jakku. Multiple First Order ships and bounty hunters had flooded Niima Outpost since the confirmed sight of Kylo Ren. 

Many of the scavengers were making good money selling food, booze, and false leads. Suddenly everybody knew Rey personally and everybody knew exactly where she would hide.

Kafia quickly tired of their talk, mercilessly slicing the throats of the most annoying ones. It was effectively keeping the swindlers at bay, but also causing reliable sources to run at the sight of her. 

Grumpy and tired, she found her way to a sleazy bar. 

Booze had never been well-regarded among The Knights of Ren, but with her comrades dead, she had fallen into old habits. 

Shunned from all sides, she noticed a man at the back with his eyes fixated on her. 

Kafia bared her teeth at him, but he only smiled charmingly, greeting her by lifting his cup. 

Was he flirting?

The very concept made Kafia's blood boil. 

That maggot had no place thinking of her like that. 

In no time she was beside him, bashing him off his chair and holding him down with a knee. Her right hand gripped his hair, forcing his head back as she pointed her vibrostaff at his Adam's apple.  

She looked down at him, smiling darkly at the rush of power flowing through her.

"Easy there!" The man held up his hands to show that he was unarmed, keeping eye contact without flinching. "Don't you want to find the lost couple?"

"You can't help me," Kafia hissed.

His smile turned smug. "I am the only one on Jakku who can."

She saw no hesitation in his eyes and felt a tiny bit of respect for his incredible audacity. 

He was clearly not a warrior - she could easily kill him - but still, he had confronted her trying to make a deal. He clearly had something of value.

Kafia turned the vibroblade away. "What can you offer?"

"A tracking device."

Rage rushed through Kafia and she gave a hard yank in his hair. "Don't lie to me!"

His charming smiled turned to a frown of pain. "It's true," he assured her, "I planted it on Rey myself." 

"And why didn't you give this information to the First Order?" she sneered, still unable to believe him. 

He glanced at his robotic leg. "I am no fan of the First Order."

"And the other bounty hunters?"

"Some didn't believe me, most didn't want to pay the price."

"Which is?"

The man lifted a hand to his scarf, revealing an old-fashioned steel collar tightly clenched around his neck. It seemed to be the type to sever a man's head if he went too far away from his captor.

"You are a prisoner." Kafia grinned. "A slave!" 

The man's charming face twisted, and his voice went low. "I want you to get rid of Unkar Plutt, get this thing off me and to get me off this planet."

Kafia cupped his scalp with her right hand and lowered her mouth down to his ear. 

"If this is a trick," she whispered, as she slowly clenched her hand, letting him feel how easily she could break his skull, "I will hunt you down, cut off your remaining leg at the knee and your arms at the elbows." She smiled lightly at the sight of his pain. "Making sure you don't die, I will disfigure your face, take out your eyes and leave you to live the rest of your pitiful life on this miserable planet."

The man blinked but didn't waver. "You keep your part, I'll keep mine," he quaked. 

She loosened her grip and moved away from him. "Then we have a deal" 

The man got on his feet, trying to regain his composure. In goodwill, he held out his hand to her. "My name is Talock"

Kafia stared at the hand. Did he want to touch her?

Talock withdrew his hand, understanding that she was not the type to shake. "What is your name?" he asked.

"Be ready to leave in twenty minutes," she said, walking out of the bar without bothering to answer his question.  

-

Kafia didn't waste time. She went straight to the Concession Stand, cutting the line of scavengers waiting to get their findings evaluated. 

She jumped onto the desk, gliding her slender body underneath the metal wires and landed in front of Unkar Plutt.

Unkar took a step back, his permanently sour mouth wide open under his big nose.

"I have a proposition for you," Kafia began. Flashing a nova crystal between her fingers, she had Unkar's undivided attention.

"I want the man called Talock." 

Unkars mouth shut at the name of the scavenger and turned to an unnaturally straight line on his face. 

Kafia fished another crystal from a pocket in her belt. "Make no mistake, he is no better off with me than with you."

Unkar still seemed reluctant, but then a third crystal appeared.

He held his only hand out, demanding payment and she let the crystals fall into his palm. 

His eyes were shimmering at his newfound wealth, as he picked out a specific remote and handed it to Kafia.

She smiled sweetly at him, sending a chill go down his spine. 

Then she swung a perfect hit at his thick neck, crushing his windpipe. 

Collecting the crystals from his pocket, she turned from him and left the Concession Stand.

Around her the scavengers were panicking. Unkar's people were running in from all sides, choked and angry.

Kafia didn't pay them much attention. She headed straight to her ship, dangling the remote in front of Talock as they boarded her shuttle.

He tried to grab the remote, but she moved it out of his reach. "Ah... what about your end of the deal?"

"Here," Talock handed her the software and stretched out his hand to receive the remote.

Kafia turned the mini-disk between her fingers, but made no move to give Talock the remote. Outside, someone was shooting at the shuttle.

Unaffected, Kafia sat in the pilot's seat and started the motors.

"Our deal!" Talock reminded her, crunching his fists, trying to remain calm.

"It's still on. You will be free if and when I find Kylo Ren."

"You can't do this!" he roared at her.

Kafia flashed him a smile of pure superiority, waving the remote in front of him. "Yes, I can."

Talock knew that she was right.

"Go, freshen up," she ordered, pulling the joystick backward and lifting the shuttle off the ground. "You stink."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kafia is up and kicking!  
> I really had fun writing the aktion in this, after spending so much time on the peaceful islands of Lavadonna. 
> 
> Well... the peaceful time is almost over...


	10. Chapter 10

Rey jumped from one cliff to another. 

Their island connected to the neighboring one with a series of cliffs and miniature islands in between, which she was currently using as a bridge as the sky was darkening on the horizon.

Back on the island shore, she didn't feel like going back to the Specter.

With a grunt, she picked up a handful of pebbles, sat on the cliffs and started throwing the pebbles into the water one by one.

The irritation bubbled inside her again - lately, it often did. 

She felt it in Kylo too. 

Despite their unique bond, the irritation resulted in a lot of small disputes over ridiculous nothings, which annoyed both of them even more.

She was aware of the fragile state of their peaceful life. It was too easy. Too peaceful. 

Rey had spent all of her life fighting for survival in the deserts of Jakku. Kylo was used to tough disciplinary training and had been a central figure of war since a young age.

In the weeks they had spent on Lavadonna, Rey had explored every island in sight, finding the same trees, the same flowers, the same shores and the same wildlife. 

There was no real threat around and nothing to do but gather food and train.

It felt like sitting with your hands in your lap, passive when something important needed to be done. 

They were both restless, and ended up taking it out on each other. Unable to address the real problem, they desperately clung to what little time they had left together. Leaving the planet would most likely separate them. If the Resistance ore the First Order didn't pull them apart, their different choices and ideologies would. It hurt her heart just thinking about it. 

It was almost completely dark when she felt Kylo's presence behind her. He wasn't as angry, as she had imagined he would be. Kylo just sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He could feel her sadness and she didn't need to say that she wanted to see the unknown enemy in the water.

When it was only the stars that reflected in the dark water, the otherwise calm surface started vibrating violently, throwing millions of droplets of water centimeters in the air. 

Rey moved closer to the edge of the water. Directing a flashlight at the surface, she saw something black between the dancing drops. 

The creatures were small and dark, without any solid form. Though they emitted an enormous dark aura, one would hardly pose a threat, yet it seemed like the entire surface of the ocean grew alive with them. She had no doubt that everything stepping into the ocean at night would be devoured in seconds.

"Werworms," Kylo uttered. "I have seen them before, but never this many in one place."

She slowly backed away from the water. "What do they do?"

"They drag you to the bottom of the ocean, while slowly eating you."

Rey felt her pulse quickening, the dream was crystal clear in her head - something had pulled her underneath the ocean surface, enclosing her in darkness. It was a premonition, and all her instincts told her to get as far away from the planet as possible.

There was no time to debate the subject, as they suddenly saw a light too sharp to be a star on the horizon.

Someone had found them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Troubles in paradise. A small chapter just to set a status quo.  
> Kylo and Rey is both getting frustrated by the peaceful life on the islands and frankly... so am I.  
> Now it't time to get down to businesses. 
> 
> Finally the threat in the water is revealed.  
> What do you think? Did it measure up?


	11. Chapter 11

Kylo and Rey ran for the Specter, but the shuttle landed right in front of them, blocking their path. 

The area outside was bathed in the artificial glow of the shuttle's headlights, making the fish shy away from the area.  

Kylo tightened his grip on the handle of his lightsaber as a woman walked down the shuttle ramp.

 _Who is she?_ Rey asked, sure that Kylo had met her before. 

_Do you remember the last of The Knights of Ren? The one you wouldn't let me kill?_

_Yes._

_That's her._

Rey surveyed the woman up and down. She was very different from the masked attacker Rey remembered. Though beautiful, the woman had a murderous look and a grotesque right arm held together by visible metal and wires. _Is she dangerous?_  

_She won't be too much trouble, I nearly killed her last time._

_Last time?_

_She attacked me at the castle._

"Ren, how nice to see you." The woman smirked, stroking the metal on her right shoulder with the fingers of her left hand. "Do you like my new arm?"

 _Her arm?_ Rey asked. Kylo didn't answer - he didn't have to. 

The woman's eyes narrowed, as they settled on Rey. "Scavenger-scum!" she said, in a parody of a greeting, and turned her attention back to Kylo. 

Rey ignored the insult. She felt it, the pull of the Amaniastones. 

Kriff! Would they never be free of those annoying things?

Rey's eyes searched for the location of the stones. The woman most likely had them somewhere on her person, but they weren't on the duo-bladed vibrostaff, nor on any of her clothes... 

Then she caught sight of them, as part of the machinery of her arm. What could she possibly gain by making the stones part of herself, in that way?

The stones were too small to make a difference in a fight and, without any sensitivity or power with the Force, Rey clearly felt how the stones were slowly draining their host of her lifeforce. Attaching the stones to your body like that would surely shorten your life by decades, at best. 

"What do you want, Kafia?" Kylo's voice was confident but cautious.

The woman's expression turned serious. "Your beating heart on a spike would do," she fumed. 

Kylo growled and ignited his lightsaber, which lit up his face with a red glow. 

As Rey followed his example, a small movement - something shiny at her feet - caught Rey's attention. Reflexively, she put up a force-shield protecting her body. 

Blinding light overtook her vision and dulled her other senses.

She had the sensation of being weightless, then too heavy. 

-

Kylo saw the light and heard the explosion. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Rey's body flung between the trees.

He moved instantly, trying to get to her, to make sure that she was okay, but Kafia blocked the way.

"Move!" he commanded.

Kafia didn't comply. She was ready for his attack, and her right hand grabbed ahold of his hand on the lightsaber. 

He felt the familiar pull and tore his hand away. Kafia grinned and swung the vibrostaff at him. 

"You disgust me." Her voice was dripping with hatred. 

It surprised Kylo how much strength she wielded in every attack. She was stronger, faster and more balanced than she had been in the castle on Mustafar.

For a fleeting second, he doubted his own power. 

It seemed like every time he made contact with her right hand, she pulled a little power from him, making him weaker and her stronger.

But it was impossible. The Amaniastones was only able to take, not to give. 

Right? 

"Look at yourself! Barely keeping up with me!" Kafia's scornful words added to his anger. Sparks flew as he swung the lightsaber, only to hit the blade of her vibrostaff.

"You are unfocused! Weakening! And for what?" Not giving him time to answer, she spat it out herself. "A little girl, nothing but Jedi-scum!"

Kafia was right. Kylo knew it. He felt his grip on the Dark Side of the Force weakening bit by bit. But that didn't mean that he, himself, was weakening.

There was a little less darkness in him, but he was still powerful. 

Empowered by the realization, Kylo swung his lightsaber with renewed resolve, this time letting his feelings for Rey and the need to protect her dominate his mind.

Jumping back from a bomb, thrown suspiciously close to Kafia, gave him a chance to tear the vibrostaff from her hand.

She stumbled back and a pair of crooked knives appeared in her hands. 

As the tide of the fight turned, a question sneaked into Kylo's mind: Who had thrown the bombs? Until then, he had been too enraged to think of anyone but Kafia, who stood between him and Rey. Now he sensed someone moving around in the shadows and that someone, a man, was to close to Rey. 

Yelling out in rage, Kafia dodged under the simultaneous swing of his lightsaber and her own vibrostaff, while she lashed out at his torso with the knives. 

Occupied with Kafia's aggressive attacks, Kylo couldn't get a hold on the man with the Force. He blocked her, pushed back and made her stumble around him. Instantly on her feet again, Kafia attacked his back. With no concern for her own life, she was determined to stab him.

A moment of distraction, a glimpse of the unknown man carrying Rey.

Kafia had the perfect opportunity. She could have ended it right there, stabbing his heart or slicing his throat; but she didn't. 

Instead, she stabbed his shoulder and landed a firm kick to the back of his head. 

-

When Rey came to, it seemed like her entire body was humming. 

After some time, her vision started to function again, though it felt like being underwater.

Her hands were enclosed in some kind of metal container and her feet bound together with ropes.

Rey was sitting in a small storage room between cleaning products and canned food.

Where was Kylo? She tried using the Force to find him, but the effort made her stomach turn and her head spin.

She felt unbearably weak.

The door to the storage container slipped open and a blurry figure looked down at her. "Time for another injection."

Rey recognized the voice. "Talock?" she asked, and as the blurry figure lowered closer, she could sort of make out his features. "What are you doing here?"

Talock didn't answer. She felt a faint pain, something piercing the skin on her shoulder.

"Talock, what is going on?" Her voice was faint, as she desperately held on to her consciousness. 

"You have been captured by Mistress Kafia."

Rey wrinkled her brow. It was the first time she had ever heard Talock use that kind of formal speech, and it didn't even sound like he was joking. 

Once he came a little closer, she saw an improvised patch over one of his eyes. His usual charming smile was nowhere to be found.

"What happened to your eye?" The drugs made her words muddy. 

"Tell her, slave." The woman's voice echoed in Rey's mind. 

Rey couldn't see her, but she seemed to be right behind Talock.

"I tried stealing from Mistress Kafia."

"And?" the Woman demanded.

"And I have a lousy aim when throwing bombs."

Rey hardly heard the last sentence as she drifted back into unconsciousness. 


	12. Chapter 12

The first thing Kylo felt was the pull.

His head was sore but otherwise clear. The wound on his shoulder hurt, but the pain seemed weirdly dulled. 

An interrogation chair was holding his body locked in an upward angle against the uncomfortable metal. Kafia's right hand spread over his bare chest and her eyes closed, as if thinking of something distant. 

Kylo flexed his muscles, trying the metal containers, which were enclosing his hands and weighing them down. 

Kafia twitched, surprised by his sudden movement and opened her cold eyes.

For some time, they just stared at each other.

"Why am I still alive?" Kylo finally asked.

She smiled and dug her nails into his chest, lowering her head down to hover over his. "Because I need you."

"Where is Rey?"

Kafia hissed and her left hand slapped his face. "Don't speak the name of that useless little wench!"

His voice lowered. "If you have done anyt..."

"Then what?" Kafia cut him off. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Good." Kafia gritted her white teeth.

The anger sizzled in Kylo, but he kept it at bay. At least Rey was still alive. Their bond allowed him to feel her presence on the shuttle, but it was way to faint and there was no answer when he called her.

Kafia bored her nails a bit deeper, demanding his attention. "Is she really the only thing you can think of right now?" She spat at him.

Kylo didn't answer. He met her cold gaze with stone-hard determination. She might have him contained, but it wouldn't last forever.

"You will remove these restraints," he said calmly, wrapping every word in the Force. Kafia's smile grew a bit bigger. He repeated the words once again, reinforcing the command.

Kafia laughed. "You really think I'm that weak-minded?" She slapped him again, taking some kind of pleasure in his pain, then she leaned in closer as if telling him a secret. "Even if I were, the Amaniastones protect my mind against those kinds of tricks."

Kylo was skeptical. "You really believe that?"

"I know that," Kafia boasted. "The stones weaken the Dark Side of the Force, yes, but if you know how to use them, they can also give phenomenal power."

His eyes fell on the stones fastened on the metal parts of her arm and shoulder. He had witnessed the difference in her power. She had both healed and grown stronger in a matter of months. No one got that kind of power, just like that, without paying greatly for it. "At what price?"

Kafia tilted her head in a parody of wonder. "Are you worried about me?"

"No," he responded with an icy glare, "just doubting this sudden power, is it even yours?"

"Don't you know?" The corners of her eyes crinkled. "It is your power, stored in the small stones and overflowing right into my body." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, relishing in the feeling.

Kylo sneered, unwilling to share anything with her. "Get that dirty hand off me!"

"Oh... now you hurt my feelings." There was no sign of sadness or hurt in her voice. 

With her left hand, she cupped his red cheek. "This is all your fault." She glowered. "Why did you pick her?"

Surprise flickered in Kylo's eyes, as something far scarier than bloodlust showed on Kafia's face. It was only a fragment of a second, but the expression was burned into his mind.

Kafia pulled her hand away and slapped him again, trying to mask the glint of emotion she had unwillingly shown him. 

Removing her right hand from his chest revealed five bloodred lines across his pale skin.

"I will get my revenge," she declared, as she took a syringe and filled it with a clear liquid. Holding his gaze, demonstrating her superiority, she injected the liquid into his arm. Then she lowered her lips to his ears and whispered. "I know you won't disappoint me. Sweet dreams."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really deliciously evil to write.  
> And we get a little peak into Kafia's mind.
> 
> Kafia is one of my own favorite charectors in this novel, as Kylo is slowly turning to the light, I needed someone really dark to even out the balance in my story and I think she does a great job.


	13. Chapter 13

Supreme Commander Armitage Hux was quite satisfied in his new position.

Purging The First Order of extinct religious beliefs was his first official action; mainly the discharge of the remaining Knight of Ren. 

He had no use for a hotheaded girl, unwilling to take orders and clearly chasing her own agenda. She was too strong-minded to simply correct and it was too much trouble subduing her, so he put a bounty on her head and left her on the planet Amania. 

The Knights were to bound by the past. Ancient ideas like the Force had no place in his logical and controlled vision of the galaxy.

Hux actually owed some thanks to Ren for eliminating the Knights. Azrakil had never been a reliable man, and the rest of the knights was far too autonomous. They would have opposed his rise to power, questioned his plans and maybe even tried to overthrow him. 

Of course, Hux had great respect for the late Supreme Leader, but it was time to look to the future, not the past.

It was time to secure the position of the First Order once and for all. 

The Resistance was reduced to a pathetic state, it was only by good fortune that they had won the battle of Amania. Luck, and the element of surprise. 

Had he not ben so focused on killing Ren... Hux sneered to himself, making the officers around his nervous. 

Despite the great effort to kill him, Ren was still alive, Hux was sure of it, and he was a threat to the First Order. 

A threat to  _him_. 

Well over three months had passed, and Ren was still missing.

Hux had remodeled the throne room on the Supremacy, installing a big desk for him to work at and some workstations for his closest officers. The throne itself was still there, at the center of the room, as a relic of their late leader, but the room was more an office now than an audience hall. 

Because Hux couldn't rely on the Force, he kept busy making sure his orders were performed correctly and went to great lengths to show his personal strengths: order, knowledge, and precision.

The new second in command, a sycophant with no spine whatsoever, placed a stack of reports about the ongoing repair of the flagship in front of Hux. 

"And what am I supposed to do with that?" Hux asked.

The second in command stared plainly, unaware of his mistake. 

"Take those away and get me the overlook instead," Hux sneered.  

Hux never supported the killing of officers for their failures, it was simply a waste of resources, but this man was testing his patience. 

He often wondered how such an unqualified man ended up in the position of second in command. 

An officer hurried in, placed his fist on his heart and bowed. "Supreme Commander, we have news of Kylo Ren."

He immediately had the attention of the entire room. "What news?"

"The former Knight of Ren, Kafia, just contacted us, saying that she has the traitor."

Hux smirked. The girl had finally done something useful. "Her demands?"

"A seat in the new government and the promised bounty."

Hux snickered. The girl was mad, he didn't want her anywhere near the council, but he could always kill her if she became a problem. 

"Tell her to bring the prisoner, then we will give her what she deserves." Hux turned to his second in command. "Are we prepared for the prisoner?" he asked, unable to suppress a smug grin.

"Prepared?" The man blinked a couple of times.

"The special cell," Hux reminded him. He wasn't even mad. Nothing could cloud his mood at that moment.

"Um.."

Or so he thought. "What?" Hux bit, sending his second in command a look which could peel bark from a tree.

"The special materials never came..."

Hux pursed his lips, silently telling himself to calm down. "Why have I not ben notified of this?" 

No one answered.

"I want fifty stormtroopers pointing their blasters at Kylo Ren at all times and make sure to get enough sedative ready to kill a rancor!"

"I don't think that will be necessary," the officer politely commented.

Hux slowly turned his head to look at him. "And why is that?" Did he even know who Kylo Ren was? What he was capable of?

The officer straightened his back. "Because Kylo Ren is dead."

Hux blinked. "Is it confirmed?"

"Yes, Supreme Commander."

The smile on Hux's face was, if possible, even wider than before. This was the best news he had heard in months. He didn't even have to arrange an execution.

"I want to see the body the moment it arrives. If this is true, there will be an extraordinary celebration, and... what was your name?" Hux asked his second in command.

"Clen Dava," the second in command answered.

"Don't disappoint me again, Clen Dava."

-

"Rey," Talock whispered into her ear. Rey understood his words but couldn't respond. 

"You and I are going to make a deal," he continued, "I will stop drugging you make sure you get on your feet again and you will get something for me. Can you see this?" He held up her head and revealed the collar under his scarf. "You are going to get the remote from that bitch and set me free, do you understand?" 

Realizing that she could neither nod nor speak, he added, "Blink three times if you understand."

Rey blinked three times.

"Great. You'll feel better soon, but you need to act like a dead sandworm. Don't let her know that you are fine!"

Talock disappeared and, once again, Rey was alone in the dark.


	14. Chapter 14

Talock closed the transparent lid on the capsule. 

Inside was Kylo Ren, stiff as a board, hands at his side and eyes closed.

"Hurry up."

Kafia stood at the entrance to the interrogation room, monitoring his every move. She tapped the handle of a lightsaber against her palm as Talock stirred the capsule past her.

Talock cursed her repeatedly in his thoughts.

His plan - freeing Rey and having her kill Kafia - was ruined the minute the shuttle entered the hangar of the Supremacy. 

She needed at least a day more to recover from the drugs, and by that time he could already be dead, or worse. No matter what, nothing good would come of facing Kafia on board the First Order Flagship. A cold shiver slid down his spine as he pushed the capsule down the boarding ramp and onto the Supremacy. 

An important looking redheaded man stood some meters from the shuttle, flanked by a legion of stormtroopers and a dozen officers.

"General Hux," Kafia greeted.

"Supreme Commander," an officer corrected.

Kafia smiled sweetly. "Oh, that's right. I'm sorry." She mimicked an elegant bow. "Supreme Commander Hux."

The Commander's nostrils started to flair and you could practically see the effort it took for him to maintain his composure. 

Talock half hoped that the Commander would punish Kafia, but knew that the punishment would most likely include him. She was definitely going to get him killed. 

A smug smile grew on the Commander's face as he saw the contents of the capsule and he snapped his fingers at a man in a white coat. The entire legion of stormtroopers readied their blasters as the man opened the capsule and lowered his hand to check the pulse. He then proceeded with a scanner and finally looked at the Commander with a slight nod.

"Satisfied?" Kafia asked, showing the Commander the lightsaber with a small movement.

"Very." The Commander smirked.

Kafia was smiling that dark smile again, the one Talock knew came prior to some sort of violence. "And my payment?" She placed the lightsaber in the capsule next to Kylo Ren's hand.

The man in the white coat closed the capsule and began pulling it away.  

"It is ready for you." An officer answered as the Commander was already heading off. "Follow me."

"No."

The officer didn't seem to approve of her disobedience. "What?"

"I need to talk to the Supreme Commander," Kafia took a step following the Commander, "in private."

The officer tried to block her way. His eyes widened when she swatted him away with the Force. 

It was an action she should not be capable of, and she did it so easily. "Take me to the Supreme Commander." Her voice was soft but heavy with the Force and the officer did as he was told.

Talock wanted to stay at the shuttle, he wasn't given a choice as Kafia ordered him to follow her.

-

Rey slowly became able to move. It started with her toes and her fingertips. 

Fear started to grow in her, as she could no longer feel Kylo.

The constant presence on the edge of her mind was suddenly an empty void, cold and completely silent. 

He was not unconscious, this was much worse. As if he had...

Died.

Rey's heart hammered in her chest as she searched for him, desperately reaching out through the Force, trying to convince herself that it was only their extraordinary connection which was gone.

He was nowhere to be found and she screamed out her frustration. The tears started flowing from her eyes and clouded her vision. 

Her hands were still in the metal container, but for some reason, it didn't resist when she tried withdrawing them. Apparently, it wasn't locked. The ropes around her feet were also easy to remove. 

Not yet fully recovered, she grabbed the Force, using it to get up.

She had to find Kylo. 

It was the only sane thought in her head. Her body collapsed and she ended up on the floor, unable to stop the tears. There were so many emotions that she could barely distinguish between them. Pain, confusion, loneliness, anxiety, sorrow, frustration, anger. Her mind was screaming for him, but he was not there.  

She cried out. Her sadness gave way to anger and it allowed her to get on her feet.

The door didn't budge under her kicks and hits, but it helped to vent her frustration. 

Panting heavily, she stared at the door. 

She would have to use her mind to move it. Closing her eyes she took a few deep breathes to gain focus.  

The buttons on the control panel next to the door were of no use whatsoever, probably locked from the outside. 

Using a bit of brute force, she tore the panel open, revealing a messy mass of wires. Having something to do helped calm her mind, but it didn't stop her beating heart. Her hands were shaking as she traced the wires, trying to locate the one connected to the door. Holding her breath, she chose one and pulled it out. In a long second, nothing happened. Then she heard a swoosh from the machinery, and the door slid open.

The Shuttle was deserted. 

Peeking out the cockpit shell, Rey spotted stormtroopers walking peacefully around outside the shuttle. She was in the hangar of a First Order command ship. A very big one. With the amount of life on it, it felt more like a gigantic city than a ship.

Concentrating, she reached out with the Force, ignoring the crushing feeling in her chest.

Unable to sense Kylo, Rey chose the next best option: Kafia.

Rey was sure that the woman knew where Kylo was and what had happened to him.

Kafia wasn't hard to find. She suddenly emitted a powerful Force aura which overshadowed every other living thing on the gigantic ship.

The aura was nearly as strong as Kylo's, but there was something wrong with it, it seemed corrupt and unnatural.

How was she suddenly this powerful? 


	15. Chapter 15

Hux was standing over a three-dimensional holographic model of the Supremacy.He didn't even look up as Kafia barged into the throne room. He had expected her to do something like that. He sent her a deathly glare as she casually sat on the Supreme Leaders throne.

"General Hux," Kafia greeted him again, ignoring the tern looks of the officers. "I need a moment of your time."

The guards started moving in on her, but Hux stopped them with a gesture.

"What do you want?" he asked, straightening his back. Every cell in his body was clearly stating that she was a complete waste of his time.

She gritted her teeth. "My reward." 

Hux was just about to tell her off, but the words stuck in his throat in an unnervingly familiar manner.

Kafia glared as she stretched her grotesque right arm forward and Hux was lifted off the ground. Clenching her hand, he slowly moved forward as if pulled by an invisible string.

It was impossible.

Kafia was incapable of using the Force.

It was _impossible!_

Around them, the guards pointed their blasters at Kafia.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kafia chuckled and dropped Hux on the floor in front of her.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Hux barked at the guards while gasping for air. "Shoot her!"

Their blaster shots deflected right back at them, and a short while after only a small handful of guards were left standing.

The face of Hux had turned red with repressed wrath.

How the hell was the girl this powerful? 

Yes, she had killed Ren, but he figured that she used some kind of underhanded trick, not brute force. 

"Let's get rid of the spectators, shall we?" Kafia held out her right hand and slowly crunched her fingers. The remaining guards clutched at their necks and then fell to the floor.

Kafia rose from the throne and started circling around Hux, staring at him with dark intentions. 

"General Hux," She spat, "you gave me to the Supreme Leader, who then forced me to join the Knights of Ren." 

Her voice was dangerously calm. 

"Then, when the Supreme Leader died, you used the Knights as pawns in your little power game, decided to  _sacrifice_  us. When I was the only one left, you threw me away like garbage."

She directed the Force at his mind, causing him to grunt in pain. "Right?" 

This was nothing like the Supreme Leader's malicious power nor Kylo Ren's disciplined fury; this was an explosion of dark energy, uncontrolled and raw. 

Hux didn't answer. She took ahold of his red hair and forced his face up against the ceiling. "You stabbed us in the back sending those TIE-fighters to kill Kylo Ren." Her icy stare met his blue-eyed gaze. "Right?" She demanded. 

"Yes," Hux finally admitted, without any trace of shame.

A twitch at the side of Kafia's mouth, a slightly triumphant smile.

The screams of Armitage Hux echoed in the throne room.

-

Talock knew to lay low, determined not to get involved with Kafia's madness.

Only a bad-shit-crazy person would provoke the First Order, and here she was; torturing the Supreme Commander on his own flagship!

She was scarily powerful, but there were over a million stormtroopers around _._

Did she really think she could take on all of them on her own?

Or was she expecting them to blindly accept her leadership after killing their Supreme Commander in cold blood?

She didn't seem to care that it was certain suicide, blinded by her desire for revenge.

It wouldn't be long before someone discovered what was going on and sounded the alarm. 

Talock wanted to be out of sight when that happened and slipped out of the throne room. With a little luck, he could steal the remote from her dead body and get back to the shuttle in the inevitable chaos following.

He bashed the head of the first lonely stormtrooper he saw, swapped their clothes and made sure that the stormtrooper was dead before he dumping him in a closet.

-

While trying to come up with a plan to escape unseen from the shuttle, Rey suddenly lost her balance. She slid some centimeters down the bench as the entire shuttle tilted, lifted slightly at one end, and started moving forward.

Peeking out, she saw a slow running vehicle dragging the shuttle forward.

The boarding ramp, which no one had bothered to close, lightly scraped the hangar floor as the shuttle was placed in a far-off corner where it wouldn't stand in the way of bigger ships.

Rey could hardly believe her luck.

Parked between two transporters, she couldn't have asked for better cover while sneaking down the boarding ramp. Keeping to the hangar wall, she made her way behind the different spaceships. Stealing a black officer's uniform, was far too easy, and with that on she was free to move up the countless levels of the vessel, following the strong Force-signature of that woman.

Looking through the glass panels on one of the highest levels, Rey halted. 

At last, she realized where she was. Something this big could only be one vessel in the galaxy: The Supremacy.

It wasn't odd that she hadn't recognized it until that moment, as the size of it alone made the word "ship" seem like a lighthearted joke. Gigantic-moving-space-base was more accurate. She could clearly see three Star Destroyers, parked by the edge, looking like regular shuttles under her high viewpoint.

There was a massive work in progress on the other side. It seemed as though the vessel had been ripped apart and now the First Order was putting it back together.

The Resistance had been looking for it ever since the battle of Crait. If Rey could get a signal to the Resistance and send the coordinates, it could turn the tide of the war. 

In the hallway around her, numerous officers hurried around between each other. She could see their reflections on the surface of the glass. Moving, living people. 

Kylo's words echoed in her head. "You murder millions, I murder billions, so I am the monster."

The memory of him made her eyes shiny. Rey longed for him, wanted him to embrace her and convince her that everything was all right.

She reached out to him, desperate to find something, anything, just a tiny sign of life.

There was nothing, only the disgusting aura emanating from Kafia.

As the officers around her were starting to notice her, she quickly started to move back the way she came. 

The communication-gear in the shuttle was her best chance at contacting the Resistance.

-

"It's Rey." She spoke as loudly as she dared with her mouth held close to the microphone. "This is a matter of great importance."

There were only scratchy, disapproving voices on the other end. Arguing whether to let her transmission go through. They could hear her voice, but she could hardly hear theirs. It was fair enough, after all; she was on an untraceable line on an unknown shuttle with no clearance code whatsoever. 

She didn't blame them for expecting a trap.

Rey needed some kind of proof. Something to let them know who she was, and hopefully, make them trust her.

"Poe, are you there?"

It was a long shot, but it was the only thing she could think of.

"I never thanked you properly for covering my back in the valley on Amania. The Acklay and the Rancor... you saved my life. Thank you, Poe." 

The voices grew silent while she spoke, and Rey closed her eyes for a moment.  

"I'm sorry for helping him steal your new X-wing. I'm trying to repay you, and the Resistance." 

She took a deep breath, steadying her voice. "Poe, you need to trust me." She spun in a tiny bit of the Force, unsure if it would even work with the radio waves and the great distance. "I'm on the Supremacy. I know where it is. I might not survive this, but I want to at least give you this piece of information."

No reply. Rey feared they might cut the line completely.

"Poe, please."

The silence was suffocating.

Then a tiny light flashed on the control panel:  _Connected for transmission._  

"Thank you," she whispered, and send the message.

Afterwards, she made sure to disconnect the fragile line, so that no one could trace the Resistance with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kafia's real objektive is revealed. 
> 
> Rey is on the move, Hux is pretty fucked and Kylo...


	16. Chapter 16

"Kafia!"

Kafia looked up from the kneeling officer in the center of the throne room. The whites in her eyes had turned blood-red. 

Rey ignited her lightsaber. "Where is Kylo?"

Kafia tilted her head, inspecting Rey. "If it isn't the little scavenger-girl. I guess I have the scavenger-boy to thank for this." Her freakish eyes glanced around the room, but Talock was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Kylo?" Rey asked again, cautiously taking a step forward.

Kafia loosened her grip on the redheaded officer and he collapsed on the floor. 

Stretching out her right arm, her vibrostaff flew to her hand. Rey could see the enormous amount of control that went into her every movement. Kafia was not meant to have the Force. Kylo's power was overflowing inside her and she had to persistently contain and bend it to her will.

"Where is Kylo?!" Rey shouted, directing her anger at Kafia.

"General Hux," Kafia calmly turned to the man on the floor, "answer her."

He didn't move.

Rey kept her eyes on Kafia, as Kafia took an ungentle hold on the officer, forced him up and turned him so that Rey could see his blood-smothered front. 

Unable to keep his own head up, Rey could only see his bloodstained and messy red hair.

"Where is Kylo Ren?" Kafia asked, with a bizarrely soft voice.

The man huffed, trying to form the word. "The..."

"Yes?" Kafia encouraged.

"Crematorium."

Rey blinked. "The what?" she asked, with her pulse beating loudly in her chest. "What is that?"

"You really are just a small, dumb Scavenger." Kafia chuckled. "The crematory is where you burn the dead bodies to ash."

It took a long second before Rey understood the meaning of Kafia's words. 

"No, " Rey uttered, and felt her heart slowly sinking into an endless darkness. Her troth closed upon her and her eyes started burning with tears.  

"No!" Rage flowed through her like burning lava. Consuming the pain in her chest, her fury demanded release and Rey threw herself at Kafia.

Kafia dropped the man back to the floor and blocked the attack. At first, she was visibly shaken by the amount of power Rey possessed, but then her eyes grew hungry.

Blocking yet another of Rey's attacks, she spun around and shifted her vibrostaff from her right to her left hand. By the next attack, she locked their weapons together and placed her right hand on Rey's bare wrist.

Rey gasped for air. She felt the pull of the Amaniastones, a hundred times more powerful than it had ever been before.

Jerking out of the lock, Rey cautiously circled away from Kafia.

"Little Jedi," Kafia mocked, "seems like you have a great deal of darkness within you."

Rey ignored Kafia's words. She didn't care whether there was light or darkness inside her. The only desire in her mind was to kill Kafia in the most painful manner possible. 

Her eyes fell on Kafia's cursed right arm; the source of her power.

Kafia evaded the attack and jumped to counter.

Their weapons sparked every time they crashed together in their deadly dance. They were well matched in power, but that only meant that whoever tired out first would be the one to lose. 

By stealing Rey's power at every chance she got, Kafia had a deadly advantage. 

Rey felt the humming of the vibroblade, swinging dangerously close to her ear, and the pull of Kafia's hand grabbing at her shoulder.

Roaring, Rey moved out of reach and lashed out, landing a lucky hit on Kafia's thigh.

Kafia didn't seem to feel the pain. Her eyes were now so fully drowned in blood that red tears formed at the corners of her eyes. 

A wrong turn gave Kafia the chance she needed. Rey got hit in the stomach by a brutal kick that sent her crashing into a desk.

Pinning Rey down against the floor, Kafia's fingers encircling Rey's neck, simultaneously choking her and draining her power. The world was spinning in Rey's head. Fighting to get free of the iron grip around her neck, Rey realized that her arms were trapped under Kafia's thighs and that she had dropped her lightsaber.

With Kafia pulling this wildly at her power, it was impossible to focus on the Force. 

Rey could only do one thing; sent more. If Kafia wanted the power so badly, she could have it.

Concentrating her fury, her sorrow, and her killing intent, she directed everything at Kafia. 

Kafia's mad smile faded as the power of two force users blended inside her and became incandescent. She instantly released her hold on Rey, as if burned, but it was too late. Her body, which was already under great pressure, was unable to contain it.

Kafia screamed, as her blood started boiling in her veins. 

After a long, while her voice faded and everything became silent.

Unsure of what had happened to Kafia, Rey could only stare up at the ceiling. She was infinitely tired and had neither the strength nor will to move. 

Rey closed her eyes.

She wanted to disappear from the world, never to come back, and she was almost there.

Then something - a familiar voice - disturbed her.

_Rey, where are you?_


	17. Epilog

Talock heard the scream from outside the throne room. 

Then everything became quiet.

Hesitanly, he opened the side door and looked inside. The center of the room was flooded with dead or knocked out people: mostly officers and guards. 

Rey was flat on her back next to an overturned desk. 

Kafia lay in a twisted position a half-meter from her.

Were they dead?

He wasn't sure, but it was now or never if he was going to steal that remote. Keeping an eye out, he slowly moved into the throne room. Kafia was burning hot as he checked her pulse. After confirming that she really was dead, he started searching her pockets.

Finally, he had the remote in hand. 

The little plastic device which had caused him so much trouble seemed unreal in his hand as he pressed the release button. 

A sharp click and the collar sprang open.

Talock sighed, relieved to finally be free and immediately threw the collar to the furthest corner of the throne room.

Moving his head freely for the first time in years, he continued the search. He had seen a glint of some nova crystals and it would be a shame to leave them behind.

"Why haven't you sounded the alarm?" It was the Supreme Commander, miraculously alive, behind him.  

Talock considered shooting him with the blaster, but then the big doors of the throne room opened and stormtroopers came flooding in. 

They formed a ring around the people on the floor and Talock fell in between them, hoping that the Supreme Commander would forget about him.

A pair of stormtroopers helped the injured Supreme Commander up and supported him on both sides, as an officer came running into the throne room. He stopped and dropped his jaw.

"Clen Dava," the Supreme Commander snickered. "Tell me some good news."

Clen Dava closed his mouth and hung his head. Apparently, there was none to report.

His superior glowered at him. "Tell me what happened."

"The dead man, he..." Clen Dava hunched again. "He escaped."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are so amazing for reading my story! Thank You!  
> It really warms my heart. 
> 
> As said before... this was not supposed to be the end of this novel.  
> Kylo is very much alive and, though weakened, getting ready to kick some First Order butt.  
> Kafia is very much dead.  
> Hux survived, once again - that guy is slippery like an eel - and he definitely have something planed.  
> and Rey... spoiler.
> 
> The story continues in "Darkness Rises and Light to Meet It" the last novel in this series. 
> 
> Stay tuned!


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